Progress Post Quals and Summer 2025 Excitement

It's June again, which means I turn another year older. June is one of my favorite months. Usually it means a shift from routine work to more experimental work. From educative and directly productive efforts, to more adventurous tasks.

A month ago, I heard that my qualifying exam at Northeastern was accepted without conditions. This was very great news to hear. I was very happy at the moment. I can switch now from that educative preparation to exploring the use cases of two core technologies from my lab at Northeastern, the Transformative Robotics Lab. In this effort, I attended the New England Manipulation Symposium at MIT CSAIL last week. Brett and I went over some of our work.

A lot of folks there used a sensor called a GelSight, to measure surface deformation. Here is an image of my Claddagh ring under that sensor. 

And here is an image of my 3D printed insoles after being worn down. Not all technology works without fatigue forever. I am improving the methods of producing 3D printed foam goods this summer for potential commercialization.

But, in the weekends I still find time to go on little adventures. Mountain Osceola has nothing on me and my hiking buddies. 

Switching from educative to adventurous a bit this June. I am looking forward to this summer, despite the greater concerns, I will be with my good folks along the way.

Getting Out, Agency, and Change of Pace

 

I completed my time with Physical Sciences Inc this past week. I am no longer an employee there as I transition to working more at Northeastern on robotic surfaces and 3D printed foams. A colleague of mine and I at Northeastern were awarded the NU Spark Fund to develop durable 3D printed foams for use in orthotics and related consumer products. I believe that the future of digital manufacturing is the customization of more things. To achieve this, we need flexible tooling that can mold, cast, or print weird and variable shapes. I am getting out of one part in my career and getting into another.

The way I see it, there are about 10 chunks of time in one's working career. Each chunk is about 5 years long. If one starts working as a teenager, mowing lawns or tutoring or in the service economy, and finishes their working career in their sixties, that's 50 years. As of Jan '24, the median employee tenure in the US was 3.9 years. This dropped from 4.1 years in Jan '22. Tenure varies a lot by industry, but 5 years is close to a "chunk" as I define it, a little more than average for a job. The average job tenure in the US used to be much higher for what it's worth. There is a lot to write about this change and others have done so.

I have completed the first two chunks of my working life. The first chunk occurred between high school and college. The second chunk was my time at PSI and start of graduate school.

I have about 80% of the way to go. This is intimidating! But I feel that I am in control and I have agency over what I do. That helps me feel content and happy.

There is a change of pace going on in my life and I welcome it. We all naturally shift our focus in life, this is a period when I shift mine. I think I will get out into the city a bit more as I spend less time around the 'north shore' area of Massachusetts. 

My friend Brett took the photo of Bova's in the North End. I like the range of dark and light and I enjoy the warmth. Plus, I have been to this bakery a few times late at night. I enjoy Bova's and places like it because of the character of the locale. The place is unique and it has a sense of whimsy about it. I have been thinking about how much I like genuine new places and experiences.

Some of my friends and I visited a cabin in February. We made a snow princess, had hot cocoa, and played some party games. It restored the soul.

View of Boston Harbor from Eastie

I went to Stowe, VT, a couple weekends ago to go skiing.

View of Mt Mansfield in VT from the ski lift that day.

Foam testing!

Good Times are Made

 

Since my last post, I travelled to Switzerland for Thanksgiving and I enjoyed Christmas with my family in Michigan. In the case of both holidays, I saw how good times are made. Enjoying good times take work and they involve effort. I have heard people joke about how 'ironic' it is that everyone gets so worked up over the holidays, which are supposed to represent a calmer time in comparison to the rest of the year filled with work obligations. 

My Holiday thesis is that these 'good' times should take some effort. Family holidays are the culmination of thought, care, extra-flair, and some panache. I am not saying we should work so hard that we then enjoy Holiday Heart Syndrome. Maybe people simply enjoy the poking and I am reading into a joke too much. I like to build a tradition and spend some extra time on something during the holidays. Shared actions can be one of my favorite ways to build a familiar relationship.

I've met people who appear to have many things of which to be thankful. I assumed they were satisfied and that they were happy. Often, I eventually find out that there is something tearing away at them, just like everyone else. That is the nature of desire. Let holidays be a reprieve from that duḥkha. Good times are made, leave desire aside for a moment if you can. 

My fourth semester of grad school is here. I am whipping together new things to keep myself busy. I received the good news that my Robosoft 2025 paper was accepted. Brett and I will be going to Lausanne in April. Many things to look forward to beyond.

Empty campus during break

Charles river before the snow

Murals at Baker Library of Dartmouth

My mom's dogs

Halfway done with one half of two fifths of one twentieth

 

I ran a half marathon last weekend. It was the Cambridge Half Marathon and it was certainly Type 2 fun. It hurt in the moment, but I am very glad I did it. The weather was perfect and the crowd was energetic. When I run for a couple miles, I inevitably find myself breaking down the chunks of space and time into fractions - "I'm 1/5 of the way to the halfway point." or "There is one third to go, which means I need to repeat half of the effort that I have put in so far!"

I know this is a bit silly, the total distance can be represented by one scalar value, such as percent completed. I believe some part of my psyche has trouble pushing myself harder physically with this single scalar representation. What's special about being 13.5% done? Or 64.4% done with a chosen distance? For the first example, that is close to 1/8. I can easily imagine 1/8 in a pie graph even if those two quantities are nearly the same. I think part of my mental model wants to simplify the real number that represents this distance into a integer based value. I think this allows me to enjoy little victories throughout the race and mentally gear myself forward to the next little victory. Each mile marker becomes a tiny celebration.

The same thing happens in my formal studies and in the accumulation of capital. I celebrate the end and state of each semester or project. There is something garnered and something to come. In my search for meaning, this is something that yields higher complex pleasure and enjoyment in my life. Having something to look forward towards is crucial and a key part of desire. Maybe someday when I find it much harder to desire and obtain, I will turn towards a mental model that encourages the reduction of desire. Sattva is not so bad right?

The trees are sticks now and the winter is on the way. I worry about maybe different things for the next few years and the years after that. I want to see more powerful structures plan for the longer term. I want greater stability for longer times to come. This reflects my age is some ways. I am young and building experiences in my career and life. These will hopefully yield greater stability in my future. Although I am just one person and I have a small impact in the greater world, even if I were to accumulate some large degree of influence over others. The world will keep turning, the temperature will rise, calories will be burned.

The stink at the Boston Museum of Science is very long.

Moving Quickly and Trying to Slow Down this Fall Semester

 

I feel like I blinked and September is gone. New challenges in front of me and some assignments completed. I have always enjoyed moving quickly and efficiently through work, obligations, chores, and the like. My calendar is as full as it was when I was my busiest ever. It's a somewhat fragile state of affairs at times, but I am getting this all done for a good cause.

The New England Robotics Conference last weekend was a nice time. Brett and I shared work on our soft robotic fingers fabricated with viscous thread printing. Went to the first college-esc party I have been to in a while. Not sure if that is my scene anymore. Dancing and squats and long runs to keep my health up.

There are plenty of things to stress about, but I can see why I am doing this all. It's very clear and I am quite motivated. Looking forward to Thanksgiving :)

Summer Camp at Akwissasne

 

At Akwissasne, I found a moment of peace and calm. These rustic cabins in upstate NY are found outside this planet of fast cars, jet engines, and cargo ships. Separated by dirt roads, thick woods, and mud - Akwissasne and the surrounding area reminds oneself of the beauty in untouched nature. It made me appreciate modern amenities and reminded me how little I need most of them. I felt a separation from everything else in the world outside this sandy lake and a closer connection to those in front of me. I was unplugged from digital connections and data collection systems and I enjoyed it. Coyote and I made good food, stargazed, and sailed carefree. We slept in and told stories slowly. There was enough time to do everything we wanted to do and not nearly enough time to get sick of the silence. I was able to meet some of her family and listen to their stories. I was reminded of my recent readings on Montaigne about how best to live one's life. This place cherishes life. This place and those like it are so special, so crucial, to learning and respecting the boundaries of one's abilities onto this earth. As long as I live, I hope to have and respect zones of nature for my own mindfulness and that of those who I will pass a torch.

Synchronous Fireflies and Summer Plans

I spent my birthday at the Elkmont campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). It's nestled into a beautiful and scenic part of the Appalachian mountains. I was invited along by a new friend from the lab to join them during a firefly viewing. I was very happy to find out that this particular part of the park has a special type of firefly that glows in synchrony with their fellow species. This event happens for only one week or so per year in this particular part of the GSMNP. There is another synchronous glowing firefly species in the Congaree NP in SC as well that many people know about. As I spent my first moments of being greater than 26 years old, I was watching the fireflies slowly match one another's glowing pattern in the dark woods. I was amazed. At first the lighting patterns were sporadic like a blanket of Christmas tree lights. Then, I began to see waves of lights flicker through the woods like the 'wave' in a stadium. We wandered in the sea of little lights and then got back to our campsite. I went deeply to sleep. The next day we hiked Jacob's Creek trail and I felt the cold water of a mountain side river. Some members of our hiking group dove in, but I was hesitant in my hiking gear. I will try next time! 

This internship is soaring by and I am chugging along with progress on my auxetic and electrostatic work. I have learned a lot from spending this time outside of my comfort zone. I always spent my undergraduate summers in or near Cambridge, MA. I have learned a lot from putting myself in an environment without all my little creature comforts. I had to pack my car with all the little priceless things I would need for the summer and I have gotten a Costco membership for the things I didn't bring with me.

I will be going to Boston for July 4th weekend and then Coyote will be coming with me to TN for a week plus a few days. I am looking forward to exploring some of the area with her. Later at the end of July, we'll spend time at her family's cabin in the Adirondacks. In August, I have plans to attend the SFF conference as well as a labor day weekend trip on the Cape. 

Life is good and things meld on by.